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Big inning proves the nemesis for Plymouth

PLYMOUTH — The woes of the big inning continued to haunt Plymouth’s Pilgrims Monday night as they dropped an NLC battle with Northridge by a 9-5 final.
The Pilgrims battled back after a two-run Northridge first to take a 4-2 lead on a three-run Bailey Clark homer in the Plymouth half of the inning. Plymouth added another in the third on a Clark sac fly to make it 5-3.
Then the bottom fell out.
“That one innning is our nemesis right now,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Wolfe. “We keep pitching from behind. I thought Riley (Cartwright) pitched a good game but he kept getting under his pitches and leaving them up.”
The Raiders (9-2) were able to plate six in the fourth — five of them with two outs — on five hits, two in the same inning by Northridge third baseman Arick Doberenz. Blake Fry’s two-run single was the big blow for the Raiders.
The Pilgrims then struggled to put anything together against Northridge reliever Austin Moniot. Attacking the strike zone, he relieved Fry in the fourth to take the win, surrendering just one hit — a sixth inning single to Elijah Nixon — and not walking a hitter.
Pilgrim reliever Clark matched him, throwing three innings of nearly perfect relief. He surrendered just one hit in the sixth.
“We got a great three innings from Bailey,” said Wolfe. “He got a big hit when we needed it and when we needed him to keep them scoreless and give us a chance, he did that.”
With a day off before traveling to Elkhart Memorial, the Pilgrims will spend some time with mound mechanics.
“We’re going to take some of our guys that have been struggling and work on trying to get ahead in the count and get that first pitch strike,” said Wolfe. “They have to get that bull dog mentality and bear down to make pitches.”
The Pilgrims (5-8) will hit the road to Elkhart Memorial before heading to Concord on Friday.
• NORTHRIDGE 9,
PLYMOUTH 5
At Plymouth
Northridge: 201 600 0 — 9 8 2
Plymouth: 401 000 0 — 5 7 2
Blake Fry, Austin Moniot 9 (W 3-0) and Jake Bayless; Riley Cartwright (LP 0-3), Bailey Clark 5 and Elijah Nixon.
2B: Arick Doberenz (N), Drew Burgess (N).
HR: Bailey Clark (P), Shannon Baker (N).